John 15:4-11 – “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is thatbears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Sometimes I feel like my greatest task in encouraging others with the Word of God, is to simply remove myself and let the Word speak.  In the Bible, you will see terms like “abiding in Christ” and being “led by the Spirit”, to qualify those who are indeed children of God (Rom 8:14).  What does that mean though?  If indeed you are a child of God, then you eagerly seek to know what is the will of God for your life.  What is the work that you ought to do each day?  Thankfully, Jesus has given us His answer.

John 6:29 – “Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Now this believing in Jesus extends beyond merely knowledge that he exists, otherwise everyone would be saved, because Romans 1 tells us that everyone knows who God is, and rejects Him through their actions.  In James 2:19 we see even the demons know who God is – “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”   So believing in Jesus is more than acknowledging who He is, and what he has done.  True believing in Jesus, is seeing all of the promises of God fulfilled in Jesus, trusting Him, and delighting in Him for who He is.  This is what it means to believe.

2 Corinthians 1:19-21 – “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes.  For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”

Does it make sense now how trusting in the promises of God from His Word, that they are all fulfilled in Christ, and that we are joined with Him by faith;  these things together explain how our joy in Christ and His glory are inseperable.  He receives glory as we receive Him with joy as the fulfillment of all the promises of God.  The peace we live under is solely due to Christ.

Do you want to be doing the will of God in your life?  Do you want to fight the fight of faith each day?  Make it your task to dwell on the promises of God, and trust in their fulfillment for you through Christ.  Things like, Deut 31:6 – “it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”  Gen 15:6 – “he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness”  Isaiah 53:5 – “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  Hosea 6:1-3 – “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.  Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” 

The Bible is full of the promises of God.  They’re all over the place, pointing a glad heart towards Jesus.

This must the first and enduring task of each day for you as a Christian.  Make your heart happy in God.  Come to Him in His Word to be fed by imperishable food, to renew you soul, to rejoice in the glory of God.  Everything else in the Christian life is only possible as an overflow of your love for God in this way.  If you serve the poor, are kind to others, and you do those things from willpower, rather than as an overflow of the love of Christ in you, that work will only serve to burden you and will be for your praise rather than God’s glory.  Abide in Christ.  Dwell on the promises of God, and the hope we have in Christ, the risen Son.  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Grace and Peace,
Adam